I’m not in favor of a Tomb Raider reboot. I’ve never been particularly enamored of the Lara Croft character simply because I think she’s not an icon of ass-kicking female empowerment as much as she’s eye-candy for lonely male gamers. I’ve said before that simply giving a woman a weapon and having her murder stuff doesn’t automatically equal a strong character. Hopefully newly-hired screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby can pull the character away from the awful video games (the original 1996 game is still the best one) and terrible movies and give her a worthwhile story.

Hit the jump for what Fergus and Ostby had to say about their plans for the character.

Fergus and Ostby, whose credits include Iron Man, Children of Men, and the upcoming Cowboys & Aliens, are aiming high in their take on Tomb Raider. The duo tells Variety, “We aim to write an origin story for Lara Croft that solidifies her place alongside Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor in the pantheon of great female action heroes.” If you’re going to set your character to stand alongside Ripley and Sarah Connor, you better be damn sure you can deliver. The writers would do well to remember that it isn’t simply that those character kick-ass that makes them work. Ripley and Connor also feel fear, have maternal instincts, can crack wise, and have strategic minds. The reason Lara Croft has failed on screen until now is because a pair of pistols may be enough for a video game, but it isn’t enough to make a compelling hero.

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